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The Care Agency wishes to give a heartfelt thanks to the Disability
Society for their recent generous donation to its Disability Service at
St Bernadette’s Resource Centre and Dr Giraldi Home. For many years now,
the Society have supported people with learning disabilities in so many
different ways; this time, they, along with Autism Support, have kindly
provided the Care Agency with 2 specialised tricycles. These are
accessible to a wide range of people and are easy to ride. Unlike a
standard bike, they have three wheels rather than two, therefore the
weight is distributed more evenly and are much safer, providing a more
relaxed ride and perfect for people with learning disabilities.
The Service aspires to empower and inspire service users with mild to
profound and multiple learning disabilities to achieve personal
development through a stimulating programme. Therefore, St Bernadette’s
respects the individual needs of service users, fosters a caring and
therapeutic environment; and emphasizes the social, emotional, physical
and cognitive development of everyone.
As a result, service users are supported to engage in therapeutic
sessions which are suitable to their needs, following occupational
therapy assessment. These sessions range from mental well-being groups,
living skills and personal development sessions, to physical exercise
sessions, depending on the individual needs of each service user.
The Minister for Health and Care, Samantha Sacramento said “I am
grateful to the Disability Society and Autism Support for this latest
donation, thanks to them. The tricycles offer more opportunities for
physical exercise, which slots particularly well into the day centre’s
therapeutic programme. In addition, using a tricycle offers the benefits
of being outdoors, which is excellent for mental wellbeing. The Care
Agency has a long standing relationship with the Disability Society and
are so grateful for their endless support”.
The Disability Society and Autism Support would like to take the
opportunity to thank the Gibraltar Arms and their staff for the kind
donation raised by holding a children’s Christmas party in 2019. It was
this donation that was used in part to fund these tricycles.
The Gibraltar Disability Society
has taken time to digest the recent announcement by Government regarding further
developing a special needs strategy in Gibraltar. It is hoped that is a
continuation of the Learning Disability Review which was started in 2019 by
Minister Costa after representations by the Society on various longstanding
issues in all Government services.
With regard to the announcement
of the development of a Special Needs Coordination and Liaison Office the
Disability Society supports this idea in principle. Further support would
obviously depend on more information being provided on how this Office would
function. That being said any advances in improving Government led services has
to be congratulated. With regard to the possibility of a potential NGO Charity
being set up to be a “one-stop shop” for all aspects of life for persons with
disabilities and their families, this would be welcome particularly by those
long standing charities and their volunteers who have so far been carrying that
responsibility. Once again thought it must be said that support is based on the
receipt of more information regarding the running of such an NGO and the
support it would need to provide for all disabilities within Gibraltar not just
limited to those with special needs.
The Disability Society has spent
many years fighting for disability legislation. This was achieved with the
enactment of the Disability Act 2017 which mirrors parts of the UN Convention.
It is unofficially known as Agnes’ Law out of respect for the late Chairperson
of the Society who made it her mission to bring into Gibraltar such
legislation. The fight did not stop there however and as stated in a press
release at the time: “This proposal was
not only welcomed by Agnes’ family but by all those who worked with or knew
Agnes and it is a fitting tribute to her legacy. Now that Gibraltar has taken
the initial step in introducing such necessary legislation the Disability
Society will turn its sights to the introduction in full of the UN Convention
on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities to Gibraltar.”
Therefore the Disability Society call
upon Government to ensure that one of the first matters tackled by the Minister
for Justice and the Special Needs Coordination and Liaison Office is to request
that the United Kingdom extend the UN Convention of the Rights of Persons with
Disabilities in full to Gibraltar.
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The Disability Society is outraged
that the Government of Gibraltar has dragged its name into what is ultimately a
political spat. To insinuate that the Society was consulted in the decision to
replace workers with fixed term contracts is nothing but misleading propaganda.
The Society was informed by parents who were affected by the decision to
replace said workers not by the Government themselves. Despite meeting with the
Care Agency and several long discussions with Unite the Union we were
ultimately informed by both parties that nothing could be done to alter the
decision to proceed with the non-renewal of the contracts. The issue of
continuity of care and the wellbeing of our members was foremost in all our
discussions.
The Society has for over 50 years
worked closely with any Government regardless of which party. Our priority has
always been our members and their families. We would never agree to any
decision that would be detrimental to our members. Our mantra will always
remain continuity of care. As a committee we have always given our time freely
to defend the rights of the most vulnerable in our community. For Government to
make a statement that others in our community believe as fact is an insult to
the hard work that all those on the committee, present and past, have made.